Pack downs unc-ch
What a day it was in Carter Finley Stadium on Saturday. The Pack came out and dominated the tar heels in every aspect of the game, but had to survive four plays from the seven yard line with under twenty seconds left in the game to get the 31-27 victory. It was another classic game in this heated rivalry.
The Pack came out on fire in the first quarter. On the second play from scrimmage DaJuan Morgan picked of TJ Yates and the Pack got on the board with an early Steve Hauschka 40 yard field goal. Later in the first quarter Jamelle Eugene got on the board with a 4 yard touchdown run that capped a 88 yard drive. The second quarter brought a 65 yard drive and a 5 yard Eugene touchdown run. Up 17-0 and with the ball back the Pack looked unstoppable. Driving in the red zone up go up 24-0, Daniel Evans threw a pick that was returned 92 yards for a unc-ch touchdown and suddenly it was 17-7. After a quick three and out and a terrible punt, the visitors added a field goal making the score 17-10.
Then the Wolfpack got the offence back on track. An 84 yard drive was capped by a Marcus Stone touchdown catch and the Pack was rolling into halftime with a 24-10 lead. All of the fans in attendance were very happy because the Pack had already score over 20 points which means free washer fluid for everybody!!!
The third quarter was a field position quarter with not much action. The Pack was back up the whole quarter and the play calling got very conservative. unc-ch got closer with a 50 yard halfback pass for a touch down making the score 24-17 going to the fourth. A quick field goal in the fourth quarter made in 24-20 Pack. Then the Wolfpack got it going again on offence. Driving into the red zone once again, the visitors got another pick six on a tipped pass. Suddenly the Wolfpack found itself down three in a game which it was dominating on both sides of the ball.
DeMario Pressley then made a huge play with a pick that set up the Pack on the unc-ch 25 yard line. Willie Young gets the assist on the pick as he got an arm on Yates’ arm to cause the ball to come out right to Pressley. Then it was the Jamelle Eugene show. The drive ended on a third and goal form the one with a one yard run and the Pack was up 31-27 with only 1:41 left in the game.
The Pack defense took the field needed a stop for our first victory over chapel hill in three years. It came down to a 1st and goal form the seven yard line with 20 seconds left in the game. With no timeouts chapel hill had to throw the ball four times with each one falling incomplete. With one second left Daniel Evans took a knee and the game was over. One of the memories that I will take from the game is the image of Marcus Stone leading the charge to the student section to celebrate the victory with us. He has given so much to this program and it was great to see him and the entire team celebrate the victory.
NC State dominated this football game in every way possible, except interception return for touchdowns and halfback passes. The offence looked unstoppable at times gaining big chucks of yards on the ground and in the air. Jamelle Eugene was the games MVP. He carried the ball 32 times for 159 yards and three touchdowns. Throw in 6 catches for 33 yards and Eugene was the work horse for NC State. Evans ended the day 26-42 for 229 yards and those two picks. He did a great job of spreading the ball around with eight different players catching passes. Marcus Stone was the leading receiver with 6 catches for 68 yards and one touchdown. The defense played great the whole game. The tar heels were limited to 12 rushing yards the entire game. They did have 291 passing yards, but the two picks helped to limit the damage. With this win the Pack has won four straight games and moves to 5-5 (3-3) and keeps the bowl hopes alive.
On a personal note, I can tell you that I had a GREAT day yesterday. Got up early, did some tailgating, had great seats, saw a great game, BEAT unc-ch, and did some more tailgating. It can’t get much better than that!!!!!!!